A special exhibition showcasing changing architectural styles in Taiwan to reflect political, social and economic developments in the country from 1949 to 1983 opened on Saturday at Taipei Fine Arts Museum.
Titled “Modern Life, Taiwan Architecture 1949-1983,” the exhibition is intended to gauge what happened in Taiwan from just after the end of World War II to the opening of the museum, the museum said in a statement on Friday.
A model of the Chiang A-hsing Mansion built in Hsinchu County in 1949 is displayed in the first part of the exhibition to show the diverse cultures in Taiwan at the end of Japanese colonial rule.
Photo courtesy of the museum via CNA
The historic building features Western, Japanese and Taiwanese elements, said Wu Kwang-tyng (吳光庭), one of the three academics who curated the exhibition.
National Cheng Kung University’s Future Venue in Tainan (1959) and National Taiwan University’s Agricultural Exhibition Hall in Taipei (1963) were picked to highlight the introduction of US building skills and techniques when Taiwan received aid from the US from 1951 to 1965, the statement said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government’s efforts to introduce Chinese architectural elements in local buildings, such as the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute’s Taipei Branch (1959) in Nanhai Academy, are also featured, along with local architects’ attempts to create modern Chinese-style buildings, the museum said.
The works by local architects include the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (1972) designed by Wang Da-hong (王大閎), and the library of Taipei Municipal Jinmei Girls’ High School (1968) by Xiu Ze-lan (修澤蘭), Taiwan’s first female architect.
The landmark commercial complex Wan Nian Building (1973) in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping district is featured to showcase the urbanization and rise of consumerism in Taiwan, the museum said.
Works by foreign architects in Taiwan featured in the exhibition include the chapel building of St Joseph Technical Senior High School in Taitung County (1960) by Swiss architect Justus Dahinden.
The exhibition featuring building models, blueprints, documents and videos runs until June 30.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as